Case Studies

Sunrise Growers: Strawberry Yields Forever

We are always striving to provide the best product experience for our customers their consumers, so avoiding physical damage during the freezing process is essential for Sunrise Growers.

Mark Murai

Sunrise Growers is the leading vertically integrated, frozen fruit processor in The Americas. The company is now part of SunOpta Group, a global corporation focused on organic, non-genetically modified (“non-GMO”), and specialty foods.

Their products are at the sweet spot of three powerful consumer trends: health & wellness, convenience, and taste! Sunrise Growers has carefully expanded their operations to support customers’ accelerated growth, and they are the #1 private label processor of frozen fruit. They provide full service frozen fruit programs to some of the most respected and recognized brands in the world, such as Kirkland Signature, McDonalds, Starbucks, Jamba Juice and Safeway.

In order to meet stringent standards for the fruit they provide, Sunrise Growers selected Turatti to help with their automated produce processing needs. For the precise and efficient cutting of their highly-prized strawberries, Sunrise Growers uses the Turatti Model Frazer Strawberry Capper.

Frazer

This very sophisticated model was developed by Turatti to remove the strawberry calyx (top green cap with leaves) and, if desired, slice each strawberry in half.
Mark Murai, Vice President of Field Operations, expressed the decision about using the Mod. Frazer stating that, “ We are always striving to provide the best product experience for our customers their consumers, so avoiding physical damage during the freezing process is essential for Sunrise Growers.
The Turatti unit handles the strawberries very gently and employs a precision blade which produces an extremely clean cut. We were also able easily integrate the units in our processing lines increasing our quality and yields and raising the bar on food safety.”

The new enhanced hygienic design, with open frames and full accessibility, makes this unit extremely easy to clean. Completely free of any stubborn niches that can harbor pathogenic microorganisms, the hygienic design also lets the machine stay clean for a longer period of time, allowing the user to continue to abide by even the strictest industry standards.